(Newser)
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Among the tasks facing NATO leaders this weekend is the selection of a new secretary-general for the 28-member alliance. The leading candidate is Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish prime minister, who has the support of the US and other major powers. But today Turkey opposed his candidacy, the Telegraph reports, saying that NATO can't be led by a man who refused to apologize for cartoons lampooning the prophet Mohammed.

"There are concerns in NATO that, as secretary-general, Rasmussen would face fierce protests when he visited Muslim countries," one diplomat said. The spat over Rasmussen's candidacy poses a challenge for Barack Obama, who is leading war efforts in two Muslim nations and is seeking to rebuild US ties with the Islamic world. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the Dutchman who currently heads NATO, completes his term in July.

Your rights are perfectly your own, of that there is no argument. However, the cartoon was insulting to an ethnocultural group that happens to make up a large proportion of Turkey. They have a right to be offended, and to protest, as surely as the cartoonist had a right to create the drawing.

Rob

Apr 3, 2009 4:47 AM CDT

I don't think I am missing the point at all. The rules of Western society are that we have the freedom of speech. It's a right people have fought and died for. In the West we enjoy the right to discuss, in support or criticism, anything we like. If I were in a country that had laws otherwise I would respect those local laws.

canb

Apr 3, 2009 4:01 AM CDT

There is another, and more important point in Turkey's argument why Rasmussen should not be the the NATO chief. There is a row between Turkey and Denmark over Denmark's support for the the terrorist group PKK, which is active in Turkey.